Electric lock



(No Model.)

` M. SULLIVAN.

ELECTRICAL LOCK. No. 277,628. Patented May 15.1883.v

, figa o. I Il ...y umm IIIII nl l nl NITED .STATESV PATENT OFFICE,

MORTIMER SULLIVAN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 277,628, dated May 15, 1883. Application filed July T, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MORTIMER SULLIVAN, of Brooklyn, Kings county, State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in AElectric Devices for Opening Doors; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full and eXact description thereof, reference bein g had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ot reference marked thereon, making a part ot' this specification. Y

My invention relates to a mechanical strikingplate for doors, so constructed as to admit ot' a release ofthe door, when locked, by a movement otthe stop which engages and holds the bolt of the door-lock.

It consists in so combining an electromagnet with suitable springs and levers that when the magnet is excited by an electric current it shall operate to release the stopholding the door-lock and allow it to ily back under the iniiuence o" a spring', the stop heilig automatically setto engage the lock-bolt by the closing of the door.

The object ot' my invention is to provide a simple device for unholting by means of elec tricity outer doors from an innerhall or`roo1n at a distance therefrom, as is often 'required or found convenient in apartment-houses.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an elevation of the rear or inner face of my improved electric lock-releasing device; Fig. 2, a perspective view of the device when secured to the door-casing; Fig. 3, a transverse section in line m :c ot' Fig. 1, looking upward, the device being set to engage the lock-bolt; Fig. 4, a similar section in line y y, lookingin the opposite direction; Fig. 5, a section corresponding to that in Fig. 3, in line e' z ot' Fig. 1, with the locking device released.

A is a wide plate adapted to be fitted and secured upon the casing ofthe door, instead of the ordinary forni of striking -plate .for the locklbolt. The edge ofthe plate, at the point where the loclrbolt would be ordinarily engaged thereby, is cut away, as shown in Fig.

2, so that the lock-bolt, when shut, may pass this edge of the plate freely. On the under or inner side of the plate at this point a catchblock, B, is pivoted upon a pivot-pin, C, secured parallel to the edge ofthe plate, between projecting lugs c a, above and below, as shown in Fig. l;. The catclrbloel; is recessed to pan tially encircle its pivot-pin O, and it is formed with a catch or detect, D, projecting outward from its upper end in such manner that by properlyturningthe catch-block upon its pivot this catch shall come into position to engage the lock-bolt and hold it fast so long as the block itself is thereafter held and prevented from turning. To hold fast the block, a bar, E, Fig. 3, is fitted in a recess which is formed transversely in the plate A in line with the catch I), so that its front end shall engage an offset on the rear of the catch-block when the catch is in its locking position, and thus prevent the block from turning, the rear end ot' the bar being pivoted between lugs b I, lirojecting atthe rear end of the recess, as shown in Figs. l and 5. The free front end ot' the bar E is automatically thrown outward to engage thc offset on the catch-block by means of a. spring. F, placed under the bar, as shown in Fig.3. Thecatch-blockisautomaticallyturned back on its pivot, so as to carry the catch inward and clear of the lock-bolt, by means of a spiral spring, G, encircling the pivot-pin. it is stopped when the catch is fully withdrawn, as shown in Fig. 5, by the contact of a projec tion,c,thereon with an edge, d, (see Figs and 4,) of the face-plate H, which protectsit. The catch-block is automatically turned forward on its pivot, the spring G being coiled up in the movement by the contact in the closing ot' the door of a projection, K, formed vor fitted for the purpose upon the door, or upon its lock, immediately below its bolt, with a striking piece, K', formed upon the catch-block B belowr the catch D, and at a distance therefrom equal to the thickness of the lock-bolt. (See Figs. l, 2, and 4.) The contact ot' this striking-piece K with the face-plateH serves to stop and limit the movement or rotation of the catch-block in this direction. The catch-block, held back against the tension of the spring G bythe detainingbar E in position to catch and detain the lock-bolt, is released and left free to move under the influence of the spring to let free the bolt by means of the three levers, L, M, and N, Fig. 1. rlhe first lever, L, is placed immediately over the bar E, and pivoted to rock in .the same plane therewith upon a pin, c, secured parallel to the pivot of IOC the bar E, between a lug,f, and the ange of the face-plate. The inner shorter arm, s, ot' the lever L bears upon the bar E. (See Fig. 3.) An outer longer arm, s', projects far enough to engage the end of the upper arm of the second crank-lever, M. This lever M is pivoted to rock at right angles to the lever L upon a pivot-pin, g, projecting from the plate A on the opposite side from the catch-block, as shown in Fig. l. Its lower arm, extending at right angles to the first, rests upon a lug upon the inner pivoted end of the third lever, N. This lever is pivoted at one end upon a piu, h, projecting from the plate A in line under the catch-block, and extends transversely across the plate A to the opposite side thereof, so that its free end may rest upon and engage the shorter arm of an armature, O, so pivoted that its longer arm shall vibrate in front of 2ol one or more electro-magnets, P P, secured in position upon the lower end of the plate. (See Fig. l.) The crank-lever M is governed by a strong spring, It, coiled about its pivot-piu. (See Fig. et.) This spring tends automatically to carry down thelowerarm of thelever in position to bear upon and force down the transverse lever N, so that wheuthe end of the armature-` lever is withdrawn from under the end of the lever N, allowing the latter to drop, the cranklever left unsupported by the lever N will, under the influence of the spring, be turned n upon its pvot, causing its upper-arm to swing toward the outer arm ofthe lever L and force it over, so that its lower arm shall bear down the barE and release its hold upon the catchblock, which, being thus set free, will immediately, under the influence of its coiled spring G, turn back and release the lock-bolt.

By using a spring G of suflicient power, the catch-block, when released, may be made, through the agency of its striking piece K', bearing against the projection K on. the door, to throw open the door. Thus by closing the electric circuit connected with the electro-magnets P P, and attracting thereby the armature O, the catch-block is turned back through the movements of the interposed leverL M N, actuating the 'detaining-bar E, and the door unlocked and thrown open. The levers are au- -tomatically reset in position to perform their functions as above described by the movement of the catch-block as it turns back to release the bolt, through the intervention of an arm, r, projecting toward the catch-block from the lever L, intermediate between its arms s and s', (see Figs. 3 and 5,) and which, as the catchblock turns back, is struck and elevated by an oftset, i, on the block. (See Fig. 5.) The elevation of the arm r throws back the upper arm, s', of the lever L and causes itM to force back the upper arm of the crank-lever M, so that its'iower arm, striking a` lug, w, on the upper side ot the lever N, will lift said lever clear of the armature -lever O. The cranklever M is thus held back so long as the catchblock is turned back to free the lock-bolt; but when the catch-block is turned forward again by the closing of the door against it, as described, its pressure upon the crank-lever M, by means of the intervening offset vi and the arm o" of the lever L, is removed, and the lever M will be left free to bear down upon thelever N, which, dropping upon the end ofthe armature-lever O, will be supported thereby until said lever 0 is withdrawn therefrom by the excitation of the magnet, as hereinhefore described.

I am aware that compressed air may be readily utilized as a motive power in lieu of electicity, and I contemplate the ,application of an air-bulb for moving the releasing-lever O, as an equivalent for the electromotor.

I claim as my invention- The combination, with the spring-actuated rotating catch-block B, and with each other, of thedetaining-barE,three-armed leverL, cranklever liLsupporting-lever N, armature-lever O, and electro-magnet P, all substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speciication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MORTIMER SULLIVAN.

Witnesses:

PATRICK OKEEFE, G. H. SPENCER. 

